Storage media device systems typically comprise a channel front end that processes incoming data, such as data being read from a hard disk drive, and a decoder that processes data from the channel front end and provides error correction. The speed at which the decoder can process data can have a significant impact on the performance of the system. For example, when data is read and/or processed by the channel front end faster than the decoder takes to finish processing the data, backups and/or other problems can occur. As such, improved techniques for handling incoming data and error correction would be desirable. In particular, techniques that address the problem of longer decode processing times would be desirable.